For Immediate Release: Monday, July 10, 2017
Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner on Tuesday, July 11, will introduce a resolution asking the Council to formally take a stand opposing a new Potomac River bridge crossing. The proposed project would include extending Route 28 in Virginia to the portion of the Intercounty County Connector (ICC) that is in Montgomery County.
Montgomery Council to consider
opposing new Potomac River bridge
Also on Tuesday, July 11: Bethesda Downtown Plan details,
public hearing on proposed
minimum work week for maintenance workers
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 10, 2017—Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner on Tuesday, July 11, will introduce a resolution asking the Council to formally take a stand opposing a new Potomac River bridge crossing. The proposed project would include extending Route 28 in Virginia to the portion of the Intercounty County Connector (ICC) that is in Montgomery County.
The resolution will be introduced during the Council’s regular weekly session that will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The general session and three public hearings scheduled to run consecutively starting at 1:30 p.m. will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon.
The session also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 . The meeting will be rebroadcast starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 14.
“Urgent action is needed to dissuade the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) from supporting a study of a new Potomac River bridge,” Council President Berliner wrote in a memo to his Council colleagues in informing them that he would be introducing the resolution.
Council President Berliner’s memo went on to state: “Montgomery County has long opposed another Potomac River bridge crossing from Northern Virginia to Montgomery County because of the severe negative impacts such a project would have on our environment, our Agricultural Reserve, established residential neighborhoods and for promoting sprawl.”
His memo also stated: “Based on the unanimous vote last month by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to direct county staff to identify potential corridors for a bridge routes and to include a statement of support for a new Potomac River crossing in the county’s Countywide Transportation Plan, the idea of an additional river crossing appears to be gaining momentum. We must once again make it clear that Montgomery County opposes another Potomac River bridge crossing.”
Starting at approximately 9:45 a.m., the Council will hold a worksession on Zoning Text Amendment 16-20, otherwise known as the Bethesda Overlay Zone. Earlier this year, the Council approved the Bethesda Downtown Plan that will guide development in downtown Bethesda over the next two decades. The Bethesda Overlay Zone addresses details on how to implement the plan.
One of Tuesday’s public hearings will be on Bill 21-17 that would ensure that dogs could be off-leash in dog parks that are established by municipalities in the County. The bill will not apply to municipalities that are not subject to the County’s Animal Control laws. Currently, the only municipalities it would not apply to are the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville.
The bill will not impact County laws that call for dogs to be on leashes in public areas.
Dogs currently can be off-leash (technically “at large”) in dog parks in Montgomery County established and overseen by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). However, M-NCPPC regulations regarding dog parks do not apply in dog parks that are established by municipalities within the County.
Councilmember Sidney Katz is the lead sponsor of Bill 21-17. Councilmembers Berliner, Marc Elrich and Craig Rice are co-sponsors.
Another public hearing will be on Bill 46-15 that would require an employer to provide a minimum work week of at least 30 hours for each employee working as a janitor, building cleaner, security officer, concierge, doorperson, handyperson or building superintendent at an office building occupying at least 400,000 square feet in the County. The bill also would apply to a County government employee working as a building maintenance worker in an office building of at least 400,000 square feet. The bill would not apply to a person working in a building owned by the United States, any state or any local government.
The lead sponsor of Bill 46-15 is Councilmember Hans Riemer. Councilmembers Elrich, Tom Hucker and Nancy Navarro are co-sponsors. If approved, the bill would take effect on July I, 2018.
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